Lost contact with online racing and sims recently

I tried iRacing and didn't mind it.. but didn't like the payment model and it seems like a commitment and I like to be more free, in terms of choosing to race for a few months, and then do other things for a few months and then come back..

I've raced in leagues before.. but again, a commitment.

Right now.. I'm just looking for something just to dip my toes in.. and see if I still have that racing bug inside of me. The most fun I've had in the last 12 months has been F1 2012.. but I haven't raced that in a while.

The main things I'm looking for.. are realistic handling.. or at least.. semi realistic handling..

And people who race online.. lobbies that always have people racing. This could be the biggest issue, and I really have no idea what to buy.. and am worried that I'll spend the money and the lobbies will be empty. I don't like driving offline unless it's time trials but even then I usually only do that briefly in order to fine tune wheel settings and things like that.. before racing online.

I live in Australia, which means higher pings but I've always managed fine with that in the past. Haven't had any massive lag issues.. and can drive carefully to compensate for that. I think over the years, the netcode has improved with this as well.. and in rFactor for example, it was great. Even with a field of 30+ meganes, it was very racable.

I like GT's and open wheelers.. F1 cars.. the cars in GTR etc etc..

Is there anything out there right now.. or is it all a bit dead? I think GTR3 is coming out at the end of the year, and that could be exactly what I need.. but until then.. I wonder if there is anything else.

rFactor2.. is there anyone racing online? Or is it all leagues? Is installing the mods a pain in the butt?

Is there anything out there right now.. or is it all a bit dead? I think GTR3 is coming out at the end of the year, and that could be exactly what I need.. but until then.. I wonder if there is anything else.

rFactor2.. is there anyone racing online? Or is it all leagues? Is installing the mods a pain in the butt?

Older titles? Race07 or others? Is there anyone still racing these?

Grid 2 is out next week from F1 2012 developers Codemasters, it is probably not going to get as high as semi realistic but it is supposedly quite innovative in a number of area's and might at least sate your appetitie!

I did some reading about rF2 and apparently the online community in terms of plug and play and trying to find a race isn't too good, and it's scattered across lots of different mods and tracks etc.

Will probably give F1 2012 another go and see if there is many people racing.. probably is. Just wondering if there is anything else out there..

I don't know if it's due to consoles but it seems so much harder to find people to race with these days as opposed to 5 years ago.

RF2 online is pretty dead sadly. I am sure it will pick up once the game improves. For me, the place I always find full rooms is Race 07 still. I can drop in and out like you and still find races with 20 - 25 drivers in.